Changeling the Emerald
by CDSoundtrack
Summary: A new Changeling story to announce my return from an unscheduled hiatus! In this tale, Beast Boy heads to Beach City in order to investigate odd happenings, and sets off a new adventure combining the Teen Titans and the Crystal Gems. Don't worry that this chapter is shorter than my usual, things will be back to normal in no time! I hope you enjoy this new story
1. Chapter 1

Changeling the Emerald

Chapter I: Death?

"Why do I have to investigate this place on my own dudes? This is creepy, like, Rae's room creepy." Beast Boy complained, looking at the massive statue of an eight armed woman facing the ocean with awe. This place was giving him tons of bad vibes.

"A laser fired from that area destroyed an object in space. There aren't any Titans based in that area, or any villains that we're aware of. The only things we have to go off of are that statue, the laser, and a blog called 'Keep Beach City Weird', which describes odd happenings around that area." Robin explained, sighing a bit since this was the eighth time Beast Boy asked.

"Yes, but why only me? A laser could either be tech or magic, so why not Rae or Cy?" The question made sense to Beast Boy. He wasn't qualified to deal with technology or magic of any kind.

"You're the most adaptable of the Titans, par myself and Cyborg, who's in Steel City with the Titans East, and I need to stay here to keep an eye on things. Starfire would tend to believe whoever did it was a friend, and Raven the opposite. Your animal instincts will help you figure out if they are friend or foe. If friend, make peace. If foe, either take them down or call for backup." Robin shut off the communication, leaving the changeling to his own devices.

Noticing a small house built into the mountain next to the effigie, the Teen Titan shifted into a green hawk and flew up, even though his instincts were begging him to get away from there.

The house looked normal, at least somewhat, on one side, but on the other it got weird. There was a strange crystal pedestal on the floor, a massive door on the other end of the room, and it looked like some kind of old temple. He shifted back into his elfin form and walked in, amazed.

"Dude… What _is_ this place?" Beast Boy breathed, looking around in shock. He hadn't expected this, but then again, he didn't know what to expect to begin with.

He walked up to the door and tried opening it, but it didn't even budge. Finding a small crack in the floor, he shifted into a housefly and flew through the hole, and his white eyes widened. This place… it had a… heart?

He went up to it, not sure if he was hypnotized by the strange sight or if his animal instincts were wanting to investigate further. He reached out a gloved hand to touch it, and suddenly a blast of energy came from it. A bestial roar rang out, shaking the archaic temple to its very foundations.

Beast Boy was in agony. It felt like his very DNA, already unstable as is, was being ripped apart bit by bit. He gritted his teeth, fang cutting into his lip, and tried to hold strong against this immense pain. A door opening sounded from above, followed by what sounded like chatter from people. Beast Boy's eyes closed, and he felt himself fading into blackness.

"I'm telling you Pearl, Steven's cheeseburger backpack was actually pretty useful. So what if he didn't bring the idol?" Amethyst asked, nudging the newest Crystal Gem lightly as they walked back into the temple.

The Lunar Sea Spire had fallen into ruin since the Gems had last been there. In an attempt to return it to its former glory, the Crystal Gems made their way to the top in order to use the Lunar Idol, which, when engulfed in the light of the moon atop the tower, would restore it. Steven Universe, the half-human son of Rose Quartz, had unfortunately forgotten the idol at the temple in his excitement to go on a mission with the rest of the team.

"Do you hear that?" Garnet asked hearing a massive scream coming from underneath them: the recesses of the temple.

"Do you think someone got in?" Steven asked, looking up at the two wise and level headed Crystal Gems, Garnet and Pearl.

"They couldn't have, it takes a… Gem to get in. Garnet!" Pearl began to panic. If a Gem had been on Earth and gotten into their base… They didn't want to think about it.

"I'm on it. Keep an eye on Steven." Garnet opened the door before activating the garnets on her hands, forming large red gauntlets upon them.

Garnet tracked the roar until it went silent, and her three eyes widened behind the shades she wore. The temple's heart was beating as usual, so that isn't what shocked her. It was the green humanlike being slumping lifelessly on the ground.

"Garnet? What is- Oh my!" Pearl gasped in horror as she saw the dead being. She went up to him to check for breath, but didn't find anything.

"Hey guys, what's going- oh shoot! That Gem's dead!" Amethyst ran in brandishing her whip before grinding to a halt, causing Steven to crash into her.

"A dead Gem? Who is that Garnet?" Steven asked, trying to peer through Amethyst's long white hair at the figure.

"I… don't know Steven. Wait. Look closely at his face Steven." Pearl was about to object about the child seeing a corpse, but Steven gasped in shock.

"That's not a Gem! That's a Teen Titan!" Steven clapped excitedly before remembering he was dead. "Oh… right. He's dead."

"What is a 'Teen Titan'? And why is he here?" Pearl asked, cautiously approaching the changeling.

"The Teen Titans are a team of superheroes based out of Jump City in California. This is Beast Boy, he can turn into any animal ever! But… why is he here?" Steven asked, trying to look closer.

"When we used the light cannon to destroy the Red Eye, it may have alerted them, and they sent this… Beast Boy to investigate." Garnet guessed, bending down to pick up the teen. When she touched him, however, a deep green energy flowed over him and he vanished. "This… is new." Garnet deadpanned, confusion evident in her stance.

Where Beast Boy had been, there was now a small rectangular emerald laying on the floor of the temple.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter II: Gems Vs Titans

"What should we do? They'll come looking for him, and whatever happened to him, if he has become a Gem, he won't have regenerated in time to tell them it wasn't our fault." Amethyst was spazzing out. It had been a day since the Crystal Gems discovered the corpse of Beast Boy of the Teen Titans in the bowels of their base.

"If they come, we will defend ourselves only if necessary, but we will try to explain ourselves." Garnet answered the short purple gem before turning to Rose's son. "Steven, who else is on that team? I need to know what to expect."

"Well, there's Robin, a master martial artist who uses little tools to defeat enemies. Starfire, she's an alien with super strength, lasers, and flight. Raven, she uses magic. And Cyborg, who uses a sonic cannon on his arm. They're crime fighters and they don't kill, so we should be fine, right?" Steven asked, looking to the Gems to support his theory.

"Well Steven, they may think we killed their friend, so they may be coming for revenge. I certainly hope they'll listen to reason, but I'm not confident they will. We'll have to prepare ourselves. Whether this Beast Boy is dead or he turned into a gem, not that I believe that theory is even possible, he won't be here to explain that it wasn't us." Pearl replied.

"I'll keep an eye out for them from atop the statue. If they come, I'll warn you two. We make our stand on the beach. And Steven… you'll stay away from there. If we come to an understanding, then you can come down. If not, I want you to stay inside until they leave." Garnet's tone left no room for argument, even from the stubborn child of Rose Quartz. That didn't stop him from whining about it though, much to the amusement of Amethyst.

A blue and grey car drove across the country, breaking more than a few speed limits (and some land-speed records). Inside the car were four teenagers, each of which looked monumentally pissed.

The first teen in the car, the driver, matched the car in high tech look and color. This was Cyborg, the 99% robot, 1% human who was the team's technological master. He was also Beast Boy's best friend, and the one who discovered the loss of his vital signs.

The next was riding shotgun, and was dressed up in an acrobatics uniform in the colors of a traffic light. Robin, Batman's protege, and the leader of the West Coast Teen Titans. He was also a friend to Beast Boy, even if he didn't approve of his immaturity sometimes.

The third teen was wearing a dark blue cloak, which hid her entirely from view, with the exception of amethyst eyes that intermittently flashed crimson. Raven was the team's sorceress, and while she pretended to not be able to stand the changeling, they had bonded since the team began, and she found she could actually handle being around the shapeshifter without wanting to strangle him (not that she let him know that. A mistake she was currently regretting.)

And the final teenager had orange skin, deep green eyes, and was gripping the stress ball she had been given so hard it had disintegrated. This was Starfire, a Tamaranian warrior princess. Her powers of super strength, flight, and starbolts relied on her emotions (righteous fury, unbridled joy, and unwavering courage respectively), and they currently weren't working properly. Instead of righteous fury, she felt a need for vengeance. Instead of joy, she felt despair. Instead of courage she felt reckless.

The team was on its way to Beach City, to stop whatever it was that killed their friend and teammate.

"Okay team, remember what I said. We don't know much about what happened, just that Beast Boy's communicator picked up the same energy as the blast of light before he died, so this must be an extremely powerful weapon, be wary." Robin said from the shotgun seat. He had decided against bringing his R-cycle, since they would all fit in the T-car. Besides, he _was_ aware he had a temper, and he didn't want to be the first hero to be pulled over for a ticket. Batman would kill him...

"Friend Robin, why would anyone kill Friend Beast Boy?" The innocent alien asked, trying to understand. She was having trouble remaining calm. Beast Boy was her friend, and even when she was mad at him, she never desired to rid the world of him.

"Maybe he told them a joke." Raven murmured. The team would have called her on being mean to a deceased friend, but they knew it was currently how she was coping. That and the trail of destruction following the T-Car from her chaotic emotions.

"In all seriousness Star, we don't know why they killed BB, or who they even are. We're facing an unknown." Cyborg replied, keeping his eyes on the road. But meanwhile, inside his cybernetic brain, he was running through every possible scenario that could happen. It hadn't taken too long to drive cross country to pick up the Titans, and then back to the East Coast, thanks to his cybernetic reflexes and his hyper advanced 'baby'. But still, he worried that it would be too late and the people who killed his friend would be long gone. They sped past a sign, welcoming them to 'Delmarva', which made the cybernetic man raise an eyebrow.

"Uh, Cy? What happened to Delaware? And for that matter, Maryland and Virginia? Its like they… fused." Robin seemed just as confused as the half-robot. Something was going on, and they didn't like being kept outta the loop like that. How could states do that without it being all over the news?

"I dunno Rob, but something tells me this is just the beginning." He responded, the gears turning in his head (literally) as they began to see signs for 'Beach City', which they were approaching at a velocity that no other car on Earth could match. They finally began slowing down as they arrived in the small town, and saw that it looked like a classic township, only that there were only a few people milling about (The sign was no help, as it merely said Population, with no number afterwards.) They looked at the high-tech car with confusion and curiousity, before seeing that it was heading towards the beach and shrugged their shoulders, obviously used to weird phenomena involving the beach, though Batman's ex-sidekick was confused as to why.

"What do you expect Robin? The people of Jump City stopped freaking out about weird occurrences ages ago." Raven deadpanned when he voiced this concern, making him scowl behind his domino mask.

"Yes, I'm aware of that Raven. But how come we've never heard of Delmarva or Beach City until this laser? It seems suspicious is all." The hooded empath nodded in agreement before setting her gaze on the beach. She sensed powerful and ancient magic coming from the area, which made her uneasy. This magic… It made the Earth itself feel like a newborn babe…

They parked the T-Car at the edge of the beach ("I don't wanna get sand all up in my baby's tires!") before walking/marching along the sand, before coming across the statue that Beast Boy had described as creepy. Looking carefully through his telescoping eye, Cyborg noted a red humanoid with a large square of black hair surrounding her(?) shaded face. She seemed to notice them as well, as she jumped down from statue's head, to a house built into the effigy's side, and knocked on it. A burst of speed came out of nowhere, and three figures appeared before them in defensive stances, the door of the house ripped off by their speed.

The first was the red humanoid. She had red gemstones on each hand, garnets or rubies, and was leaning forward. While her outfit was red, it had a notable star shape shaded on the chest.

The second was tall and slim, had extremely pale skin, and was built similarly to a dancer, and her outfit reflected that, a top emblazoned with the same yellow star and what looked to be a small tutu. She also had a gemstone, but on her forehead, an oval pearl if they recognized it correctly.

The third and final was more lax than the other two, but her posture showed she was ready for a fight. She was purple, had long silver hair, and wore a black tank top and dark grey trousers, with star shapes cut into her knees. She also had a gemstone, an amethyst on her chest, and she was the size of a child, no more than 12.

"You must be the Teen Titans." The red one spoke first, standing up to her full height of eight feet.

"We are." Robin's tone was powerful and obviously meant he was all business. It showed that he wasn't intimidated by her or her backup. They had fought bigger after all, and many more than just three enemies. "Now, what have you done with Beast Boy?!" He demanded, making the three adversaries tense even further.

"Just relax. We can resolve this without violence." She tried to smile reassuringly, but it was obvious that none of the Teen Titans were willing to listen.

"We're turning you in for murder!" Robin pulled his bo staff out of one of his pockets, extending it to its full length. The other Titans, on their leader's cue, armed their weapons. Starfire's eyes and hands began glowing with green energy, Cyborg primed his sonic cannon, and Raven began hovering in the air, her eyes still flashing between purple and crimson while her hands began emanating black magic.

"You don't understand!" In response the three's gemstones began glowing. The red one conjured large gauntlets on her hands, with yellow star symbols on their backs, the pale one pulled a twisting, florally designed spear out of her gem, and the short purple one summoned a dark black whip, which had chunks of amethyst along it, as well as multiple tails. "We didn't kill him!" She looked to him and his party, and then turned back to her team, her future vision showing there was no way this would end without a fight.

"His vitals stopped as soon as he entered your base!" Robin growled, before spinning his staff. "Titans, Go!" They began charging as fast as they could at the three.

"Pearl, deal with their leader!" The pale one nodded before spinning her spear in an imitation of Robin's staff and running at him in a strangely graceful manner, as if it was all a dance. "Amethyst, think you can take the girls?" Now the purple one smirked and pulled a second similar whip out of her gem before sprinting at the two heroines. "I've got the big one." She grinned a bit before jumping into the air, being silhouetted by the sun as she fell, her gauntlets were aimed dead on towards Cyborg.

Cyborg Vs Garnet

Instinctively Cyborg fired his sonic cannon at his opponent, who, to his surprise, smacked the sonic beam aside and kept flying at him. He jumped out of the way, and his real eye widened when he saw the glass crater that was now protruding from where he had stood merely a moment before. He activated his missiles (relax people, concussive rounds only), and started sending them her way from his shoulders, all while running towards her. She began swaying from side to side, easily evading the missiles with the slightest of ease, before sprinting towards the cybernetic teen, gauntlet raised. The two punches met with such force that there was the sound of metal crashing into stone, as well as a massive shockwave that sent the two flying away from each other. The teen flew into the cliffside, while the Gem stopped just before hitting the water. With determination in their eyes, they ran at each other once more and began a close quarters fist fight, tech and magic pitted against each other in a show of strength that was nothing if not impressive.

Robin Vs Pearl

Pearl circled around the two powerhouses, twirling her spear as she approached Robin, who immediately swung his bo staff at her. She gracefully leaped out of the way and began a deadly dance, spinning and leaping around Robin and going for key points with her spear. The leader of the Titans dodged many of the attacks by pure instinct, the style new to him, but it still telegraphed the moves so he could easily evade them. Pearl kept up her dance, and Batman's ex-sidekick was surprised to see she was keeping on the offensive in order to move him away from backup. A clever strategy, he grudgingly admitted. Just as he was about to attempt fighting back, her gem glowed again.

Two more Pearls appeared out of nowhere, spinning their spears as well. He leaped back away from the triad, throwing out explosive birdarangs to dissuade the three identical beings. To his shock, they went through two of them, with the third gracefully leaning back to evade it.

"Holograms." He growled out before running at them, threateningly brandishing his weapon of choice as he threw out more birdarangs with his empty hand.

"Very clever, for a human." Pearl replied, pleased with the intelligence of her opponent. The holograms and the real Gem began running around and in between each other, now all of them were dodging to throw him off. "But how will you deal with this?" They all asked, much to his frustration.

He cooled his head with a deep breath. It was like finding Slade among Slade-bots. While difficult, it wasn't impossible, he just needed to focus on the differences. They were subtle, but there. Like how only one of them was moving with the sand instead of hovering above it!

"There!" He swung his staff to meet the real Pearl's spear and they clashed in midair. She looked surprised, but then impressed as they began a dance of close-ranged weaponry, the intelligent duo easily adapting to the others style to make a fluid battle of strategy and strength, befitting the tacticians they are.

Starfire and Raven Vs Amethyst

The female Titans charged at the shorter Gem, one hovering in the air and the other running along the ground (Starfire was having difficulty feeling her usual joy at the moment, so she had to make do with the use of her legs). She lashed out with her dual whips, one in a sweeping arc from the left aimed at Raven, the other from the right towards the Tamaranean.

While the empath merely flew out of the way of the multi-tailed whip, Starfire grabbed it and pulled it away from Amethyst, tossing it aside as she continued her charge.

"Good thing I got loads!" Amethyst laughed, pulling another whip from her gem and swinging them both at the empath, one near her feet and one near her head. If she evaded one, the other would hit her, so, thinking quickly she summoned her soul self and flew away and around the attack. "No fair!" The childlike Crystal Gem complained as Raven cast away the shadow of the massive bird, focusing on a mass of rock near the top of the cliff.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" She chanted, summoning black energy to pull the chunk of earth down on top of her opponent.

"Whoza? Holy smokes!" Amethyst glowed purple and began to grow in size. The glow faded and she was a massive purple tennis racket, with her face on it. "Amethyst's serve!" She called out, swinging herself at the chunk and launching it towards Starfire.

"It will take more than the serve to stop me you Zalworg Tobeckplizing Zorgmorker!" Starfire cursed (I think, she may have been complimenting Amethyst's shoes for all I know), before punching it to obliteration, shards ending up scattering all around the beach.

"I don't understand what that meant, but I think I should feel insulted." Amethyst muttered, dodging several starbolts fired from the Tamaranian. Unfortunately for the purple Gem, she had forgotten about the demoness.

"Azarath… Metrion… Zinthos!" This time it was obvious the empath was straining to use her magic to throw something, in this case, she had gathered the debris from the previous throw and fused it together, along with plenty of the sand from the beach, making it much larger.

"Jeez, is that all you can say- Not again!" This time Amethyst lashed the weaponized Earth with her whips, making a rain of dirt and grit flying across the beach. "Seriously? Will you stop throwing rocks? I appreciate the irony, don't get me wrong, but it's getting old." She asked, spitting out a chunk of sand that had ended up in her mouth just as Starfire finally came into close range.

"This is for Friend Beast Boy!" She sent a haymaker into the Gem's cheek. She looked at the Tamaranian in shock for a moment before the force sent her flying into the ocean. The two Titans turned to each other, inwardly questioning whether their opponent was finished and if they would be able to assist the others. The unasked question was answered as a purple flash glowed beneath the surface, and a massive purple great white shark leaped out, Amethyst's face stretched across it with a massive toothy grin.

"Alright, so let's dance!" The duo dodged the shark, which shifted back to the short Gem and pulled out two whips again. Seems this fight won't end easy...

Beast Boy woke to the sound of fighting. He tried opening his eyes, but found… He didn't have them? He attempted to stretch his limbs, but found he couldn't do that either. He heard the sound of metal pounding against hard rock, recognizing it from all the times Cyborg has punched Cinderblock, and tried to move with more effort. His friends needed him! Then he saw a flash of green, and his surroundings appeared to him.

He was in the house he had been investigating earlier, a cozy place until you looked away from the entry and saw some kind of temple. Scanning the area for hostiles, he found his senses were even better than before, which was saying a lot considering. So strong in fact, that he could hear the fast heartbeat… behind him? He turned and saw a kid, and if he had to guess, he was around 10.

The kid was short and had a stocky build, had curly black hair, and wore a pinkish-red shirt with a yellow star in the center, along with jeans and sandles of the same color as his shirt. Oddly enough, his eyes looked like they had stars in them. That didn't seem healthy to the changeling.

"You are a Gem! They're gonna be so happy!" The kid began hopping up and down excitedly, much to Beast Boy's confusion. Seeing the confused look on his face, the kid stopped hopping. "You touched the temple's heart, and it turned you into a Gem." He elaborated, before the house shook as if there was an earthquake.

"What's going on out there? Who's fighting?" He asked, shaking away his confusion. This kid didn't smell completely human, and it was throwing him off. He had a scent of polish and earth as well as the regular human smells.

"Oh, that'd be the Crystal Gems and the Teen Titans fighting." The kid blinked, and then he began panicking, waving his arms wildly. "Oh my gosh! You're not dead, you can stop the fight!" The kid began dragging him to the window, and the Titan was surprised at his strength.

"Wait, they're fighting because they think I'm dead?" He asked, looking down to see three separate fights going on, the Titans split and fighting the now named Crystal Gems. Both sides seemed to be getting exhausted, but they kept up the brawl.

"Yeah, Robin wanted to arrest them for your murder, and they got into that fight. We need to get you down there before someone gets hurt bad!" Now the kid began ushering him out the screen door. "Let's go let's go!"

"Woah, be careful, we're up pretty- Ahhhh!" For some reason walking felt weird to the changeling, and he ended up stumbling. This wouldn't have been an issue, but the house was built on a steep cliff, which Beast Boy was now rolling down towards the beach.

The fights all stopped when they heard the scream, and they turned to see a green form rolling down the hill.

"Beast Boy?" Robin asked in confusion as the shape stopped rolling in front of them, picking itself up.

"Dude, that sucked!" The changeling hopped up and began brushing sand off of his uniform, looking between the two sides. The Gems were glaring up at the house, and he could see the child sheepishly shrugging at them before taking the trail down.

"We thought you were dead." Raven deadpanned, not showing her relief at seeing him safe and sound. Although… "You look different."

As everyone's jaws dropped at noticing the differences, Beast Boy just looked around at them in confusion.

"Dudes? Why are you looking at me like that? Do I have something on my face?" He was itching with curiosity for what they were looking at. Wordlessly, Cyborg manipulated his chestplate so that a reflection could be seen. "Thanks Cy." He said before looking into the metal.

His uniform had altered itself, but only in color. It was now made up of a forest green instead of black, and a lighter shade instead of purple. The belt was gone, and the boots and gloves were now the same shade as his hair. Speaking of, it was longer, now reaching his shoulders. His face seemed to be shaped differently, almost feminine in the positioning of his features and the shape of his jaw and chin. And, the most startling change to all of them, was the square, palm sized emerald where his heart was.

"Dude!"


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter III: Gem? Titan? Dude?

Beast Boy began freaking out as he saw his new form, running around like a chicken with its head cut off until Raven used her powers to hold him still. He huffed, but accepted that he couldn't continue panicking, and she released him.

"This is unheard of… How could someone become a Gem?" Pearl asked, moving closer to investigate the forest-hued Titan. She was met halfway by a heavily dented Cyborg, who shook his head at her. "I'm not going to harm him!" She insisted.

"Sorry… Pearl, was it?" At the pale Gem's affirmation, he continued. "I want to believe you won't hurt our friend, but just to be safe, we'll be the ones finding out what happened." Garnet walked over to them now, her gauntlets vanishing as she relaxed. While it was less visible on her than her opponent, fighting someone with strength similar to hers took a lot out of her.

"Please believe us Cyborg, we don't want to hurt your friend. In reality, what has happened is an anomaly, even for our technology and magic." He looked at her curiously, prompting the red Crystal Gem to elaborate. "We are an ancient race not of this Earth, but we are its defenders from beings that would otherwise threaten it. We are neither human nor animal. We are the Crystal Gems." Yeah… that didn't help.

"So, you dudes are minerals? Alien rocks?" Beast Boy asks, confused as all get out. He could turn into any animal from any planet, but he didn't think rocks were an option. If they were, he could have turned into Cinderblock a long time ago and gone mano a Beasto…

"In layman's terms, yes." Pearl was trying to dumb things down, like she often did when she was explaining Gem stuff to Steven. "We are similar in makeup to the gems that we took our names from." What most of the Titans noticed was that their personalities matched the gems as well. Amethyst seemed rather coarse, Pearl was graceful, and Garnet seemed to be more than meets the eye.

"But… How did I turn into one? And why do I look like a dudette?" Beast Boy then decided to get the conversation back on track, tapping the emerald on his chest with a gloved thumb.

"When we found you, you were near the temple's Crystal Heart. It exudes pure Gem magic, and it should have killed anyone who touched it. This is… unheard of." Garnet admitted how little she knew of the situation.

"So people can just become Gems now?" Amethyst asked, hopping into the conversation and making Pearl facepalm.

"Well, BB's DNA has been unstable since he got his powers. Maybe the energy fused with it?" Cyborg suggested, recalling the whole reason Beast Boy could turn into any animal he wanted.

"And what about the dudette bit? Hello?" The newest Gem asked, his pointed ears lowering a bit as Cyborg began theorizing. He wasn't too fond of this. He was supposed to be a chick magnet after all, they digged the ears!

"Since we're minerals, we are genderless, though all Gems seem to resemble human females. It seems that rubbed off on your base form." Pearl wondered aloud.

"Base form? Ahh, my brain hurts dudes!" He began rubbing his temples as he's seen Raven do on multiple occasions, believing them to cure headaches.

"Dude, it's simple. Your base form is what you naturally look like. With effort, you can look like anyone, but this is what you're most comfortable looking like." The short purple Gem explained, patting the Titan's arm. She knew how Pearl could get after all, and it seemed that Cyborg guy was the same to the extent of using big words.

"Oh okay. Why didn't you guys put it like that in the first place?" This time Raven facepalmed alongside Pearl.

"Not everyone speaks idiot Beast Boy." The empath deadpanned, making the others snicker a bit.

"Wait, can we even call friend Beast Boy the Beast Boy any longer? Is a mineral not a beast?" Starfire asked, floating back down to the surface of the beach. Since seeing Beast Boy was indeed alive, the Tamaranean's joy launched her clear into orbit, luckily without a sonic boom.

"Huh, hadn't thought about that." The changeling focused hard, imagining himself as a falcon. He stood like that, a stupid concentrated expression on his face for a while, before they realized he didn't shift. "What? My powers are gone? Dude…" He drooped now. How was he going to fight alongside his friends now?

"Gem shifting must be different from what you normally do. I can try to help you with it later, but don't fret, us Crystal Gems aren't exactly defenseless. We all have specific weapons, and each have special powers. For example, I can make holograms." Pearl tried explaining to the distraught Titan.

"I can shapeshift into anything!" Amethyst cackled, shifting into a purple version of Beast Boy's new form, but with her face and gem instead of his. It was… unsettling to see before she changed back.

"And I have super strength." Garnet nodded, continuing the examples. The green teen looked around, calming down just a bit.

"How am I supposed to learn how to control this? It took me years to learn my original powers." It sounded like training was in his future, much to his irritation.

"Well, while we've been raising Steven here," Garnet patted the short kid on his curly hair, making him laugh and do the starry eye thing again. "He has his mother's Rose Quartz gem, and we're trying to see if he can master her abilities. If you'd like, you can join us in the Temple, become a Crystal Gem." She offered, much to the shock of every party involved, including the other Gems. Here's a quick rundown of their reactions:

Steven was happy he would have another guy around the Temple, and that he would have someone else to learn his Gem abilities alongside.

Pearl was appalled that Garnet would even suggest this. They had enough on their hands as it is raising Steven after all.

Amethyst… didn't care either way actually. She liked this guy's sense of humor, but she didn't care enough to lean either way on the matter.

Garnet could _feel_ it was the right decision to offer Beast Boy the chance. Whether he accepted or not, this course of action was the best. If she didn't offer, it was likely tensions would raise between him and his team, as well as the Gems and Titans. If she forced the issue, the two sides would fight again, and that wouldn't end well for either.

Cyborg felt like he was in the process of losing a limb… again. He had driven across the country twice thinking his best friend was dead, and now that he knew he was alive, he may be taken from him again.

Robin was conflicted. On one hand Beast Boy wasn't useful to the team without his powers, but on the other he didn't want him to leave. He, along with Starfire, were the glue that kept the team together. He included Robin and Raven in social activities, and he kept Cyborg busy so he wouldn't harass the bird duo when they were busy brooding/meditating/investigating.

Starfire felt confused. Their friend was alive! Sure, he was different and didn't have his powers, but why couldn't he learn to control his new abilities with them? His family?

Raven's emotions were arguing inwardly. Happy, Timid, Brave, Rage, Knowledge, Wisdom, all of them. She couldn't trust herself to say anything.

"...What? Are you serious?" Beast Boy himself was in shock. This opportunity, to join another superhero team, came out of nowhere. "What about my friends?"

"Friends are important, believe me, I know. But learning to control your powers takes priority right now. This is for the best." Garnet answered him, knowing what the question was doing to the teen.

"I have to agree with Garnet Beast Boy. You can't be a Titan without powers, and as much as I want to help you, they are kind of the experts on this." Robin finally spoke, and the changeling looked at him with hurt in his eyes. He felt like when Robin was threatening to arrest him all over again, but he knew this was for the best.

"You two are right. Dudes, I'll be here for now. But if you need any help at all in Jump City, let me know, and I'll be there as fast as possible." The newest Crystal Gem promised his friends. Cyborg, unable to say anything, hugged the green teen and gave him a new communicator. Starfire and Robin gave their goodbyes as well, and Raven told him 'Be safe, and don't die, again.'

All of his friends accepted his decision, but that didn't make him feel any less like a dick. So, as they walked back to the T-car he turned to the Gems.

"What's my first lesson?" He asked, pure determination in his emerald eyes. He was going to master this as fast as possible, and get back to his friends before they knew it.

"Well Emerald," The green Titan nodded, acknowledging this as his Gem name, and Garnet continued. "The first step is summoning your weapon and abilities. Unlike with Steven, I won't hold back!" She summoned her gauntlets and ran at him before beginning to throw punches.

They all seemed to come at him in slow motion, and he dodged them all easily. He jumped back, and was shocked when he saw the amount of new strength in his human (Elf? Gem?) form when he ended up several yards away. He clenched his fists, and his emerald began to glow as he focused on summoning his weapon.

Emerald bracers appeared on his hands, with small trails of the gemstone flowing across his fingers, ending in bestial claws a la Sabretooth.

"Duuuude… This Beast's got claws!" He smirked and ran at Garnet on all fours, ready for their spar to truly begin.

 _ **Hope you all liked this chapter! If I didn't make it obvious, Beast Boy's trigger for his powers is determination, his stubbornness to help people that need it and to stand up for himself and others. His special abilities, as well as his claws (couldn't help it), are all animal based. He has way enhanced reflexes, instincts, strength, speed, and is practically a perfect shifter into any animal and corrupted gem monster once he learns how to do it. And since he's a full Gem, it's easier for him to access his powers than it is for Steven, but he'll still have plenty of comedic issues as he learns alongside Rose's son.**_


End file.
